In honor of the NAUIx4Ocean Bracelet Launch, the team wanted to make a splash! So on Friday, April 5th, 2024, NAUI HQ staff set out bright and early and rolled up their sleeves for a 4Ocean Partnership Beach Clean Up.
The team met with the 4Ocean crew at 9:30 AM, enthusiastic and ready to directly work toward our common goal of preserving our oceans and waterways. After an insightful briefing on the ‘hows’ and ‘whys’ of our mission, the 4Ocean crew organized the volunteers into groups. The NAUI family joined the rest of their group, collected their gear, and set out with a crucial role in the day’s strategic clean-up operation.
The team first ventured into the mangroves near the pavilion, searching amongst the roots and finding plenty of picnic waste below a thin layer of brush. For the tech-savvy environmentalists among us, were given a chance to pilot the “4Ocean Pixie Drone” – an aquatic drone that can be driven to collect floating debris and surface oils from waterways and coastline.
Check out 4Ocean’s video to see it in action!
The spirit of competition weaved into the day’s activities with prizes that turned the event into an environmental treasure hunt. The categories were diverse: the heaviest bag of the day, the most unusual find, the closest estimated weight of the total day, and a race to retrieve three tennis balls with the Pixie Drone.
Cliff Richardson, Executive Director/CEO of NAUI Worldwide and NAUI Services Group, collected the largest bag of trash weighing in at 5.3 pounds, about the same weight as a new 92 oz bottle of laundry detergent. Altogether, the NAUI family collected 23.5 pounds of trash, the same weight as a standard tire!
As the day came to an end, the total amount of trash collected stood at an impressive 185 pounds in just three hours. Among our finds were the leftovers of picnics and beach days – a lone water ski, pool floaties, and the usual suspects: bottles, cutlery, and straws, an unfortunately, an excessive amount of microplastics.
Conservation isn’t just a concept; it’s a call to action.
And community isn’t merely about coming together; it’s about joining forces for the greater good. NAUI is committed – to the oceans, to responsible diving, and to education. Our dive into conservation continues, and with each , we forge a stronger, more inclusive community. After all, every piece of trash collected is a victory, and every bracelet purchased is a pledge – for the oceans we treasure and for the future we share.